Review — Gary Pig Gold

“Banishing forever so many of the myths and misconceptions . . .”

“[T]here have indeed been many . . . articles, interviews, television specials and even books (e.g., Bob Greene’s candidly behind-the-scenes When We Get To Surf City) regarding the Titanic Twosome. But it wasn’t until Mark A. Moore’s 450-page-plus, day-by-day, blow-by-blow Jan & Dean Record chronology in 2016 that the serious study of their music and, yes, art commenced. And while that book remains the undeniable go-to reference work on the subject matter, Mark has now added to this California saga considerably, his eagle-eared attention to detail more than intact, with a too-long-awaited biography of the one, the only Jan Berry. . . . From his blessed Bel Air upbringing to his pioneering efforts at establishing what would become known the world over as the California Sound (yes, before Dick Dale, Phil Spector, or even Brian Wilson) Jan power-shifted through the first half of the Sixties playing bona fide all-singing, all-writing-and-arranging, all-producing Pop Star by night while, somehow simultaneously, pursuing studies at UCLA and the California College of Medicine . . . until, that is, the horrific events of April 12, 1966 which, as had somehow been predicted within the grooves of the very record which gave this book its name, left the man battling both physical and emotional demons for his remaining three decades. Dead Man’s Curve tells that complete tumultuous tale. . . But it also furrows deep, shines light, then adds color, weight and substance to the myriad people, places and events merely cataloged throughout Mark’s Record, whilst banishing forever so many of the myths and misconceptions behind Jan, Dean, and their undeniable role in the very genesis of the Los Angeles rock scene.” — Gary Pig Gold, PopDiggers, April 8, 2022. Read the full review at PopDiggers.